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Listening to The Night Before Christmas II made me want, more than anything else, actually to see the live musical performance. This spirited musical is filled with songs and images that can only be fully realized if you could see it. That said, the CD version is certainly worth hearing as it is a high-quality recording featuring original songs performed by talented artists.

The performance, by the musical group (company?) Sounds of Blackness, uses several styles and genres to update, urbanize and enliven the story told in Clement Moore's classic poem The Night Before Christmas -- from soul and R&B, to gospel, to urban hip-hop, to semi-classical orchestral arrangements. I enjoyed all of it and I liked it more the more I listened. I particularly appreciated the soulful harmonizing by contraltos Britgette Dawkins and Patricia Lacy-Aiken on Love Is Born, a contemporary gospel number. It is the only gospel-styled song, but its placement has the effect of taking the performance to another emotional and spiritual level.

As earlier mentioned, the production itself is first-rate. The emotional orchestral arrangement of Holy Are You Lord is memorable for both its vocals (lead vocalist: alto Andrea Tribitt) and its brass- and string-laden instrumentals. The same applies to All Through The Night (lead vocals by altos Carrie M. Harrington and Andrea Tribitt). Soul song Do The Funky Chitlin' just made me smile.

No doubt even more fun to both see and hear, Sounds of Blackness's The Night Before Christmas II is still worth hearing.

--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2004)

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From the liner notes:

Sounds of Blackness Vocalists:

Sopranos: Angela Henderson, Jayn Higgins, Chreese Jones
Altos: Carrie Harrington, Sandra Harris, Cynthia "Funkytown" Johnson
Contraltos: Bridget Dawkins, Patricia Lacy-Aiken
Tenors: Robert Edwards, Terrence Frierson
Baritones: Geoffrey Jones, Billy Steele
Basses: Gordon Bruce, Gregory Sears

Sounds of Blackness Instrumentalists:
Percussion: Daryl Boudreaux
Guitar: Levi Seacer
Tenor Saxophone: Louis J. Wilson
Alto Saxophone/Clarinet: David Wright III
Trombone: Juan Navarro
Trumpet: Larry "Section" Sims
Keyboards: Garry Hines, Dir.
Viola, Violin, Cello: Thomas Demer
Drum Programming: Gary Hines, Karl Derner

Current Members Not Appearing On This Recording: Mark Haynes, Dr. Robert Jones, Yulanda Lunn, Larry Robinson, Craig Taylor, Frank Wharton, Jennifer Whitlock

The Story:

"This hilarious and heart-warming musical is a contemporary urban version of the beloved holiday poem Twas the Night Before Chrsitmas (A Visit From St. Nicholas). It features show-stopping music, dance and dialogue by brilliantly-costumed chaacters, including: Singing Christmas Stockings, Dancin' Chitlins, Rudolph the Rappin' Reindeer. Santa and Mrs. Claus, and Santa's Super Fine Reindeer - who go on strike on Christmas Eve, leaving Santa stranded in 'The Hood'.

"Since 1978, The Night Before Christmas - A Musical Fantasy has played to sold-out houses -- originally at the Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and, in recent lyears, has also played in Chicago, Detroit and New York. It has proven to be a family-friendly production that is enjoyed by people of all ages and backgrounds.

"The Night Before Christmas - A Musical Fantasy is performed by the three-time Grammy Award-winning group, Sounds of Blackness, whose singers and musicians have brought this original production to life on the stage."

Sounds of Blackness

The Night Before Christmas II

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Track List